8 Important Collections of LGBTQ+ Literature and Archival Materials You Should Check Out

These are challenging times for LGBTQ+ communities, and as always, libraries step up to provide support and partnership. Among the ways libraries do that (and all year-round, not just in June) is by offering resources and educational materials about and for the LGBTQ+ members of their communities.

There are also LGBTQ+ libraries that focus on documenting and archiving vital aspects of the community’s history and achievements, as well as providing a robust collection of print and/or digital LGBTQ+ resources. Read on to learn more about their efforts and how you can get involved.

1. John J. Wilcox, Jr. Library

John J. Wilcox, Jr. Library is the oldest LGBTQ+ lending library in the US, opening in 1976 as the Library of the Gay Community Center of Philadelphia. The library has a fourteen-thousand-volume lending library, and its archives include extensive collections of personal and organizational records, periodicals, audiovisual materials, and varied other archival pieces documenting the LGBTQ+ community.

Archival materials are not available for loan, but people can visit the library and access them without an appointment (although appointments are welcome).

2. Queer Liberation Library

Queer Liberation Library is an LGBTQ+ online-only library that’s primarily individual donor-funded (and the annual fundraiser this June will help fund the library for the next year). It’s completely run by volunteers—in other words, very much a passion project for its team.

The library’s mission is to make LGBTQ+ information and resources more accessible to all. The current collection includes a wide array of resources on health and safety for the LGBTQ+ community, locations of real-world queer information centers, a collection of links for trans history, a linked data LGBTQ+ vocabulary site, a queer zine archive, and a platform that connects LGBTQ+ people facing persecution or discrimination with safe, verified resources.

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3. LGBTQ Resource Center at the Newark Public Library

The Newark Public Library has a designated LGBTQ Resource Center in its main library. The center’s LGBTQ librarian focuses on serving patrons, growing and maintaining the collection, developing and offering programming, and ensuring the space is safe, inclusive, and welcoming. 

The collection continues to evolve and offers circulating and reference materials, periodicals, and databases, among other archives. High-quality programming promoting intersectionality is a priority. Past events include documentary screenings, drag queen story hours and bingo sessions, author talks, LGBTQ prom, a Newark Pride kid zone, and adult game and craft nights.

4. Pat Parker/Vito Russo Center Library

The Pat Parker/Vito Russo Center Library, located in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Community Center of Manhattan, was founded in 1991 to encourage reading and research of LGBTQ+ literature. Pat Parker was a lesbian poet viewed as a leader in the lesbian-feminist cultural scene, and Vito Russo was a gay film historian.

Today, the library also provides space for support groups, LGBTQ+ family spaces, information on intersectionality and racial equity, and archives dating back to 1878, including materials such as scrapbooks, photos, audio and video recordings, pamphlets, posters, and personal papers. The archive can be accessed by appointment only.

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5. Quatrefoil Library

Quatrefoil Library in Minneapolis is the second-oldest circulating LGBTQ+ library in the US. It opened in 1986 and was named after the 1950s novel Quatrefoil: A Modern Novel by James Barr, which was among the first to present gay characters in a positive light.

The library is 100 percent volunteer-run and offers more than twenty-five thousand resources for visitors, including books, DVDs, zines, comics, and periodicals. It also provides access to queer ebooks and audiobooks through the Libby app. Quatrefoil Library’s robust event calendar includes frequent book clubs, both in person and online, as well as game and craft nights, a queer transplant group, and speakers on various topics.

6. Lavender Library, Archives, and Cultural Exchange (LLACE)

Sacramento is home to the Lavender Library, Archives, and Cultural Exchange (LLACE), a volunteer-run library that has an ever-growing collection of queer literature, movies, zines, and historical documents. LLACE places a priority on keeping banned books on its shelves while providing a sober, low-cost space in the queer community.

The Lavender Library is completely donor-funded, with donations covering everything from the space’s rent to purchases of new materials to the costs of digitalizing its archive. Several events are offered every month, including special film screenings, book clubs, craft events, a writer’s salon, and discussion groups for various smaller segments within the LGBTQ+ community.

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7. ONE Archives at the USC Libraries

Housed near the Los Angeles USC University Park campus, ONE Archives is the largest collection of LGBTQ+ materials in the world. It was founded in 1952 and currently has millions of archival items, including books, periodicals, movies, video and audio recordings, photos and artworks, organizational records, and personal papers.

Visitors are welcome during open hours, but researchers who want to explore the archives for research purposes should plan ahead.

8. QT Library

Boston’s QT (for queer and trans) Library has been building a community and collection while raising funds to move into a brick-and-mortar space. Its highest priorities include providing personal and educational resources for people of all ages in the form of a sober, inclusive community.

For Pride Month 2025, consider visiting one of these libraries, whether in person or online, or consider donating to help the libraries continue to grow and thrive. Ask family and loved ones to do the same! And if your local library is celebrating Pride in any way, be sure to thank them for it.

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries. 

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